


Thunder

by powerdragonmoon



Series: In the Storm [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chlonath Week, F/M, Umbrella Scene, chlonathweek2k17, day 6 - I hate that I love you/I love to hate you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-15 00:38:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11219586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/powerdragonmoon/pseuds/powerdragonmoon
Summary: A different take on the umbrella scene.





	Thunder

Nathanael walked towards the dark oak front doors, reaching for the umbrella under his arm as the sound of rain reached his ears. Another day of school was over. And the awful guilt he felt just made him want to get home, to dive head first into the welcoming embrace of his sketchbook and pencil, or his tablet and stylus.

So as he stepped outside, he expected to find a deserted staircase and a clear path home. Instead he was shocked to to see Chloe Bourgeois standing there, all by herself. She had her back towards him.

Nathanael hesitated. The feeling of regret and shame twisted in his gut and he took a deep breath as he stepped up to her side. A small part of him still felt justified in what he had said. However, looking back on what had happened, he knew he had crossed the line—even if Chloe had done so first. Nathanael knew now that he could have found a better way of handling the situation. And he regretted letting her get to him. He needed to show her that he wasn’t like her.

Chloe, for her part, didn’t turn or acknowledge him. He didn’t expect her to. Instead he chanced a glance at her from the corner of his eyes.

She was wearing her sunglasses.

Confused, Nathanael stared out at the street before them.

It was a dark, gloomy day. Rain poured forth from the grey clouds, and he could just barely hear the sound of thunder in the distance. It was not the type of weather one would wear sunglasses for.

Just as he was about to break the silence between them, Nathanael saw it.

A single tear escaped the corner of her sunglasses, just making its way down her cheek before she quickly turned away from him, a hand quickly coming up to her face, before settling back at her side.

Nathanael stood there frozen in shock, unable to quite think of anything to do. He had planned on apologizing, or at least trying to, but as he stared at Chloe with her shoulders hunched over away from him, he faltered. The already difficult words seemed impossible now.

In front of them, the rain seemed to intensify, pounding against the street and making it hard for Nathanael to catch her whisper over the sound. But he heard it nonetheless,

“Go away.”

He was still too stunned to respond. Never had he imagined finding Chloe outside and crying after what had happened that day. His grip on his umbrella tightened nervously as he twisted it in his hands.

“What are you deaf?” she spat. “Leave me alone!”

And just like that the apology on the tip of Nathanael’s tongue evaporated into the air, probably condensing into raindrops to splat onto the soaked concrete.

He took a step forward, about to open his umbrella, when the sound of thunder grew stronger, making the feeling of guilt return once more—although not quite as strongly. So he stopped, turned to Chloe and asked,

“I-umm…is someone coming to get you?”

“Why do you care?”

Nathanael sighed at her immediate angry rebuttal, “Well, I guess maybe I shouldn’t.”

She faced him and scoffed, reaching up with a hand to take off her sunglasses.

He’d never seen her eyes so blue before.

Bordered by pink—she had clearly been crying—her eyes, while shiny with tears, seemed to spark in time with the strike of lightning far away. She glared at him as she placed her glasses on top of her head.

“My ride is late,” she said bitterly, before adding with a murmur, “Daddy will have to fire them for sure.” She stomped her feet like a child, “This is absolutely ridiculous! I could’ve walked home by now, but this weather will ruin my hair…Sabrina is the one that usually has an umbrella for me.” And at this she eyed Nathanael’s umbrella for a moment. He gripped it tighter. Chloe waved a hand in the air in frustration, “I can’t believe she is sick! This is all her fault!”

Out of the torrential outpouring of complaints, Nathanael stood there in confusion. His mind focused on one compliant in particular. “What?”

“Today,” Chloe continued, looking at him as if he were dense, “today was all her fault!” and then she glared at him, “and yours too!!”

Nathanael gawked at her, mouth wide open before sputtering, “Are you serious?! I-if anything it’s your fault!” The guilt he previously felt now easily morphed into anger. “You’re unbelievable! How are you like this?! You’re so mean!”

He needed to be away from her. She was awful. So Nathanael stepped back until he realized he was out from under the school building’s overhang. Rain immediately started to fall on him and he undid his umbrella, opening it up to shield him from getting soaked. He turned to walk away. All he wanted was to be home.

From behind him her offended voice rang out.

“Mean? I’m just stating the facts!”

Nathanael turned, “You’re passing the blame onto other people! Isn’t Sabrina your friend?”

“And…?” she raised an eyebrow at him. She stepped forward, closer to him. Above them, thunder rumbled.

“You can’t treat people like this Chloe!” he shouted in exasperation. “We aren’t one of your Father’s employees that you can just boss around!”

“Well it’s just easier that way!”

In their yelling, Chloe quickly realized she had stepped out of the school’s refuge. Rain spattered against her face and she stepped back. Nathanael watched as she fretted over her hair, and for a moment thought to lend her his umbrella.

Until he thought back on what she had said and who she was. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he thought about it. “…Easier?” he finally asked.

Chloe crossed her arms, tilted her face up to hold her chin up high, haughty and proud, “Yes, it’s easier to put people below you, that way they never get a chance to hurt you.”

“I-what!?”

“It’s not something someone like you would understand.”

“Someone like me?” he asked, looking down at the rain hitting the ground before staring back up at her, expectant.

“Yes,” she paused, her face grimacing as she stared off into the sky. She seemed to be in conflict about something. At least until she meet his gaze and that same spark of contempt reached her blue eyes. “A loser,” she finally added. 

And with that she broke any sign of apology from Nathanael to pieces. Without another word he turned, walking away as he made his way down the stairs, absolutely furious. He rubbed a hand up to his ear, itching his sore piercings.

Still trapped at the school’s front door, Chloe yelled out to him, “I hate you Nathanael Kurtzberg!”

Without even glancing back, Nathanael continued on. “Well, looks like the feeling is mutual,” he muttered under his breath.

From the inside of his jacket a tiny voiced peeped, “Oh Nathanael…”

Nathanael huffed, flinching as a small creature zipped out. She was just so cute. He instinctively smiled in greeting, even though it was more of a grimace. “I tried to apologize,” he said with a defeated shrug.

“I know you did.” Tikki replied, flying up to touch his cheek. At the touch, Nathanael chuckled, imagining it was her version of a hug. His grimace morphed into a grin as he continued on their walk home, hoping to leave Chloe and all thoughts of her far behind him.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> “Are you sure about this choice, Master?” 
> 
> “I’ve never been more sure. Those two may behave like oil and water…but they were made for each other.”


End file.
